Diet. Yes, it matters.

First of all, sugar is the devil, and I personally know the Devil very well.

Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, authors of Skinny Bitch, speak plainly when they describe sugar as the devil:

Refined sugar, a simple carbohydrate, has been linked to hypoglycemia, yeast overgrowth…, a weakened immune system, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, enlargement of the liver and kidneys, increase of uric acid in the blood, mental and emotional disorders, dental cavities, and an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. In addition, refined sugars make you fat. Excess amounts are stored in the liver as glycogen. But when the liver is too full, the excess amounts are returned to the bloodstream as fatty acids. Guess where those end up? Hips, stomach, thighs, and ass.

At age 71, Bill Clinton still travels and works at a pace that completely exhausts staffers who are two or three decades younger. Yet, while coping with heart disease and the usual complaints of aging, he has managed to change his diet drastically, lose more than 30 pounds and keep the weight off. If he can do all that, then maybe there’s hope for the rest of us baby boomers — and Americans of all ages — whose eating and exercise habits (and medical expenses) worry him a lot.

It’s a testament to his discipline that he pulled off a 180-degree pivot overnight — motivated not only by his own urge to live but by the goals he has set for his foundation. Worried by the increasing prevalence of diet-related disease among Americans of all ages, he and the Clinton Foundation are committed to promoting healthier lifestyles, with what he sees as far-reaching effects on the nation’s finances, quality of life and even climate change, which is exacerbated by meat production. “I wanted to do it because this health and wellness work I’ve been doing is increasingly important to me,” he says.

In addition to his dietary changes, Clinton also walks two or three miles a day, outdoors whenever possible; plus, he works out with weights and uses an exercise ball for balance drills. And, of course, he continues to play golf, always walking the course without a cart.

Sounding the themes that still drive him every day, Clinton wraps up our meeting with a message, reminding me that “the way we consume food and what we consume” are driving the unsustainable level of health care spending in America. To truly change the conditions that lead to bad habits and poor health, he warns, “we have to demand it by changing the way we live. You have to make a conscious decision to change for your own well-being, and that of your family and your country.”

Here is the full article in AARP further exploring President Bill Clinton’s motivation and lifestyle on a plant based diet: